Validity study of self-reported pesticide exposure among orchardists
Validity study of self-reported pesticide exposure among orchardists
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DOI：
10.1038/sj.jea.7500176
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发表时间：
2001-09-01
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Checkoway, H
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Engel, LS;Seixas, NS;Checkoway, H
自我报告的工作经历通常是流行病学研究中估计职业暴露的唯一手段。本研究的目的是检验果园农户回忆历史农药使用情况的准确性。这项研究中的所有 185 名果园主此前都参加过一项针对因职业接触农药的男性的队列研究。在那项研究（1972 年至 1976 年）中，受试者每年接受一次访谈，并要求列出自上次访谈以来使用的农药。 1997 年，我们成功地重新联系了最初队列中 440 名假定还活着的果园主中的 265 名，并要求他们填写一份关于他们一生使用农药情况的详细调查问卷； 185 人（成功联系的农户的 69.8%）表示同意。以1972-1976年的数据为标准，计算了某些农药和农药类别的召回敏感性和特异性。对于杀虫剂、除草剂和杀菌剂的大类，对于频繁使用的化学类别（如有机磷酸盐和有机氯）以及常用农药，召回灵敏度为良好到优秀（0.6-0.9）；对于特定农药，该值更低且变化更大（0.1-0.6）。最不使用的农药和化学类别（例如二硫代氨基甲酸盐和含锰农药）的召回特异性最高（0.7-0.9），而其余农药和化学品类别的召回特异性一般较低（0.5-0.6）。没有证据表明研究参与者和非参与者之间存在选择偏差。总之，常用农药和农药类别的召回率较高。这种召回准确度水平可能足以用于大类农药的流行病学分析，但对于检测更具体的关联来说是有限的。
Self-reported work histories are often the only means of estimating occupational exposures in epidemiologic research. The objective of this study was to examine the accuracy of recall of historical pesticide use among orchardists. All 185 orchardists in this study had participated previously in a cohort study of men occupationally exposed to pesticides. In that study (1972 to 1976), subjects were interviewed annually and asked to list pesticides used since the last interview. In 1997, 265 of the 440 presumed-living orchardists from the original cohort were successfully recontacted and asked to complete a detailed questionnaire concerning their lifetime use of pesticides; 185 (69.8% of farmers successfully contacted) agreed. Considering the 1972-1976 data as the standard, sensitivity and specificity of recall were calculated for certain pesticides and pesticide categories. Sensitivity of recall was good to excellent (0.6-0.9) fur the broad categories of insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, for heavily used chemical classes, such as organophosphates and organochlorines, and for commonly used pesticides; it was lower and more variable (0.1-0.6) for specific pesticides. Recall specificity was greatest (0.7-0.9) for the least used pesticides and chemical classes, such as dithiocarbamates and manganese-containing pesticides, and was generally modest for the rest (0.5-0.6). There was no evidence of selection bias between study participants and nonparticipants. In conclusion, recall accuracy was good for commonly used pesticides and pesticide categories. This level of recall accuracy is probably adequate for epidemiologic analyses of broad categories of pesticides, but is a limitation for detecting more specific associations.